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Non-diphtheritic Corynebacteria (NDC), originally considered contaminants in clinical samples, have now emerged as nosocomial pathogens, emphasising the importance of their identification and prompt reporting. 120 non-diphtheritic corynebacteria isolated from pus were chosen for examination. A battery of tests identified isolates and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was detected by broth microdilution and interpreted as per Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) and British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) guidelines. C. amycolatum 28 (31%), followed by C. striatum 18 (20.5%) was the predominant isolate. Cephalosporins were least effective followed by Gentamycin. However, all isolates were sensitive to Vancomycin and Linezolid. Our research highlights the necessity of implementing clinical antimicrobial therapy protocols for Corynebacterium spp. Empirical treatment with vancomycin or linezolid is recommended until in vitro susceptibility results become accessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schwannomas synonymously known as neurilemmomas or neurinomas are uncommon benign neoplasms of neural sheath origin. They account for 5% of all benign soft-tissue tumors. 6%-8% of tumors occur intracranially and 25%-45% occur extracranially in the head-and-neck region, of which cutaneous schwannomas located in the dermis or subcutaneous tissue in the head and neck are an unusual entity. Of the seven subtypes described by Erlandson, ancient schwannoma is a very rare distinctive histopathological variant resulting from long-term degenerative changes and accounts for 0.8% of all soft-tissue tumors. This seminal article is a systematic review of schwannomas in the ear in its entirety from 1977 to 2023 along with a case report of a profusely bleeding cutaneous ancient schwannoma occurring in the mastoid region in a swelling of a short duration of 6 months in a 75 year old female. To the best of our knowledge, this case has two firsts to its credit. It is the first reported case of an ancient schwannoma in the mastoid region and also the first reported case presenting with bleeding from the schwannoma. Due to its rarity, ancient schwannoma must be included in the differential diagnosis for any bleeding mass in the ear to avoid an erroneous diagnosis of malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kimura disease (KD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder, which is quite rare and has an unclear and much debated etiology. KD is characterized by painless, nodular, subcutaneous swellings along with lymphadenopathy, encountered in the head and neck region more often. It is also known to affect major salivary glands. It is also associated with elevated Immunoglobulins (IgE) and peripheral blood and tissue eosinophilia. Kimura disease generally affects young Asian males. There is considerable difficulty in arriving at clinical diagnosis and often it is frustrating to both patients and the treating physicians because of the difficulty in its management. We are presenting and reporting a case of Kimura disease in a young adult Indian female patient who presented with a swelling in the left parotid region. We have successfully managed this patient medically with a unique combination of drugs, most of which have already been tried and reported in literature by various authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel thiadiazole-incorporated aminothiazole derivatives were synthesized and characterized by IR and 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopy, ESI mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. All the synthesized compounds were tested for their in vitro anticancer activity against MCF-7, A549, and HeLa human cancer cell lines by the MTT assay. 5-(1-{2-[4-(4-Nitrophenyl)thiazol-2-yl]hydrazono}ethyl)-3-phenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2(3H)-imine and 5-(1-{2-[4-(4-bromophenyl)-3-ethylthiazol-2(3H)-ylidene]hydrazono}ethyl)-3-phenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2(3H)-imine showed a remarkable activity against three cancer cell lines, when compared to the reference drug cisplatin. The products were also tested for antibacterial activity against S.aureuss, P. aeruginosa, and E. coli bacteria and antifungal activity against A. Niger and C. albicans fungi. 5-(1-{2-[4-(4-Methoxyphenyl)thiazol-2-yl]hydrazono}ethyl)-3-phenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2(3H)-imine was found to be much more potent antibacterial agent than the other synthesized compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mahaboob John YM, Ravi G. Real time regional mobility energy feature approximation‐based secure routing for improved quality of service in MANET, International Journal of Communication Systems 2021, (https://doi.org/10.1002/dac.4713). The above article published online on 20 April 2021 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the Editor and John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Following publication, it has come to our attention that the people named as the Guest Editors of the Special Issue were being impersonated by a fraudulent entity and the articles were not reviewed in line with the journal's peer review standards. The Editor has determined that the articles do not meet the required scholarly standards of the journal, and therefore has taken the decision to retract the article. We did not find any evidence of misconduct by the authors. The authors have been informed of the decision to retract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive Radio (CR) is a novel concept that enables wireless devices to detect and adapt to their surroundings in order to enhance communication quality. The cognitive radio sensor network (CRSN) has proved to be a cost-effective solution for the spectrum constraints in wireless sensor networks (WSN). Optimizing the optimum packet size is regarded to be an essential energy constrained issue to address the practical implementation of CRSN out of all the difficulties. Small packets generate data traffic in device-to-device communication, while big packets may cause data bit corruption, requiring retransmission at a greater frequency. This will not allow access from the secondary network to the main network, since it may cause further disturbance. To maximise the WSN's energy efficiency, the optimum packet size for CRSN should be maintained while keeping the same degree of interference as the primary licenced users. The purpose of this article is to examine formulations for small, medium, and large packet sizes in order to determine the optimum packet size for adaptive CRSN. To do so, CR requires a flexible physical layer capable of carrying out the necessary tasks. This article examines the performance of CR systems that use the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing technique, which is a possible transmission technology for CR. Interference and delays are minimised and the channels are ultimately utilised effectively through Scheduling MAC protocol. This article gives the design steps to adjust the network design to get the better performance. For achieving the greatest performance on the Cognitive Radio Sensor Network (CRSN). The Jellyfish Search Optimization algorithm and the hybrid Momentum Search Algorithm are hybridized and results are achieved. This makes it possible to calculate precise packet sizes. The suggested approach decision outperforms existing methods like the Group Sparse Optimization algorithm and the Throughput Maximization Algorithm. The MATLAB/SIMULINK Platform were used to get the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curry leaf (Murraya koeinigii) is commercially grown in Kayathar and Ottapidaram blocks of Tuticorin district in the southern part of Tamil Nadu, India. In the present study, the insecticide use pattern was investigated through a standard questionnaire and the residue on foliage was analyzed using QuEChERS method. Major pests reported by the farmers in this region were psyllids (Diaphorina citri) (93.33%) and whiteflies (Aleurodicus disperses) (84.44%) during the pre-monsoon season. It was revealed that curry leaf farmers relied mainly on insecticides for management of insect pests guided by local pesticide dealers and used as a cocktail mixture. Only 26.67 per cent of the farmers were aware of IPM options. Around 15 insecticides including four combination products were used in this region. The results of the residue analysis conducted on 30 farm-gate samples, show the presence of insecticide residues in 83.33 per cent of the samples. Though there is no MRL value available for curry leaf, the maximum level of residues was recorded in respect of profenophos (0.578 mg kg-1), Fenpropathrin (0.241 mg kg-1) and afidopyropen (0.197 mg kg-1). The results of the present study demand for the need of IPM awareness programme including educating the farmers and pesticide dealers on sensible use of recommended pesticides in curry leaf farming. So that curry leaf produced in this region can be are of pesticide-free. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compressive Video Sensing (CVS) is the video coding framework that uses compressive sensing (CS) theory into video codec to reduce the burden of encoding. Various existing methods are developed for CVS, but enhancing reconstruction speed and reconstruction quality remains a great challenge in video compression. Hence, an optimal method is developed using the proposed Differential Pulse Code Modulation+Conditional Autoregressive-Salp Swarm (DPCM+CA-SS) model for CVS system by considering the characteristics of CVS frame. The spatial redundancy of video frames is explored by partitioning the video frames into several blocks such that each block is measured using the measurement matrix. The measurement vectors are quantized using DPCM. The key frames are compressed into bits using Huffman coding, and the packet is transmitted to the decoder side. The temporal redundancy of CVS model is explored by encoding the frames using CA-SS-based prediction model to achieve Motion Aligned (MA) optimal reconstruction. However, the proposed CA-SS is designed by the integration of Conditional Autoregressive Value at Risk (CAViaR) and Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA), respectively. However, the proposed DPCM+CA-SS obtained maximum PSNR and SSIM of 39.6649 db and 0.9120, and the minimum total time of 4.9523 s, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the effects of chamber pressure on the electrical and thermodynamic characteristics of a low-pressure thermal plasma jet. The investigation focuses on current–voltage characteristics, arc voltage fluctuations, plasma jet temperature, electron density, and velocity within the range of 100–500 A arc current, at chamber pressures of 100 Pa, 1 kPa, and 3 kPa. Spectral analysis of the arc voltage reveals the presence of distinct frequencies, including restrike, Helmholtz, and acoustic modes, which exhibit varying behavior under different chamber pressure conditions. Restrike frequency shows an increase with decreasing chamber pressure, while Helmholtz frequency remains unaffected, and the power density of the acoustic frequency diminishes, eventually disappearing from the spectrum. The transition of the plasma jet from a continuum regime to a frozen state with decreasing chamber pressure is observed along with its shock structures. Optical emission spectroscopy is utilized to map the excitation temperature and electron density profile along the jet axis, demonstrating that the jet temperature and density peaks at the compression zone. Furthermore, Mach probe measurements of the plasma jet velocity at different axial locations, under various chamber pressure conditions, illustrate that the plasma jet maintains a supersonic state, regardless of chamber pressure. However, after the formation of a Mach disk, the jet velocity becomes subsonic. The highest velocity is achieved at 100 Pa chamber pressure, reaching Mach 2.9 at 50 mm from the anode exit. This research enhances our understanding of thermal plasma jets under low-pressure conditions, contributing to the advancement of knowledge in their applications across various domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micromagnetic simulations were performed on seven isolated CrO2 discs, each having different orientations of easy axis of magnetization (EAM), but, same 100 nm diameter and 50 nm thickness. The simulation results showed that for an external magnetic field applied along the x-axis, there was no emergence of vortex states corresponding to the relative orientations of the easy axis along [1 0 0], [1 1 0], [1 0 1] and [1 1 1]. Whereas, magnetic vortex states emerged for the relative orientations of the easy axis along [0 1 0], [0 0 1] and [0 1 1]. In another words, for the external field applied along the x-axis, if the relative orientation of the EAM is at θ = 0° or any proximity of 45° (i.e., 0° ≥ θ ≤ 55°), the vortex states did not emerge; but, for any orthogonal orientations (θ = 90°), magnetic vortex states emerged. For the easy axis orientation along [0 1 0] and [0 1 1], out-of-plane vortex states with its core magnetization pointing along the normal to the plane of the disc emerged. However, for the easy axis orientation along [0 0 1], in-plane magnetic vortex states emerged, with its core pointing along the applied magnetic field direction. Further, depending on the relative orientation of the applied magnetic field and its strength, various other magnetization configurations, such as C, S and O states, were obtained in the simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater has become the predominant treatment because of the high scarcity of water. Transition metal molybdates were broadly investigated in water treatment. To enhance the performance and reliability, rare earth molybdates were investigated. Herein, we report the preparation of novel Gd 2 MoO 6 nanoparticles with carbon composites, such as rGO and g-C 3 N 4 , employing hydrothermal technique and it was used as a photocatalyst for wastewater treatment. The rGO substance was substantiated by D- and G-bands in Raman studies. The morphology of the pure photocatalyst revealed a coral structure when rGO and g-C 3 N 4 were added, and a nanoplate-like structure was grown. rGO sheets were identified in TEM studies, and their crystallinity was confirmed by the SAED pattern. Basic dyes, azo dyes, and textile wastewater were treated with the prepared photocatalysts under visible light. The photocatalysts achieved good performance in reducing different classes of dyes. rGO-Gd 2 MoO 6 exhibited superior performance evaluated with other two photocatalysts. The efficiency of g–C 3 N 4 –Gd 2 MoO 6 is almost equal to that of rGO-Gd 2 MoO 6. The rate constant value attained for the rGO-Gd 2 MoO 6 on wastewater was 0.0176 min1. The quality of the wastewater was also improved after treatment. The superior activity of the carbon-composited Gd 2 MoO 6 was due to better generation and low recombination of e−/h+ pairs during photocatalysis. As rGO-Gd 2 MoO 6 exhibits superior performance under visible light, it can be a novel photocatalyst for practical wastewater management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum oxide (MoO 3) nanomaterials have received remarkable attention in biomedical applications, energy storage devices, and conversion devices. Orthorhombic phase molybdite (α-MoO 3) was successfully synthesized via hydrothermal method and the structure was confirmed through standard characterizations. Electrochemical performance was explored to evaluate specific capacitance, current densities, and stability. Product-specific capacitances were 164, 243, and 350 F/g at 10 mV/s and current densities were 194, 305, and 440 mA/g. M3 electrode showed 84% retention toward oxygen evolution reaction activity. The chronoamperometry study was conducted over 10 h to determine the long-term stability of M3 electrode. It showed high stability and good conductivity. Thus, it can be said that MoO 3 is a promising material to improve electrochemical performance and be used in preparing an efficient electrochemical energy conversion device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New attractive advances in electrode preparation for supercapacitor applications with rGO based composite materials are eye-catching attention of researchers. Cobalt oxide is considered as an effective electrode for full cell fabrication due to its high specific capacitance. Cost effective solvothermal method was used to prepare pristine Co 3 O 4 nanorods, NiCo 2 O 4 nanorods and NiCo 2 O 4 /rGO urchin like nanocilia structure composite materials. The complete electrochemical studies were used to check the obtained product electrochemical activity. The high specific capacitance values are obtained for NiCo 2 O 4 /rGO urchin like nanocilia composite electrode material which leads to design a full cell and make use as practical applications with illuminating red, green, blue LED source. The capacitive retention of 92.28% even after 5000 cycles achieved in GCD cyclic performance at a high current density implies its excellent stability. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we have successfully synthesized the cost-effective, abundant in nature and environmentally friendly SrMoO 4 /MWCNT-PVP by using the co-precipitation technique for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Prepared nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, which confirms the formation of tetragonal structure of SrMoO 4 and indexed with JCPDS (01-074-3912). Raman spectra confirm the combination of SrMoO 4 with carbon composite (verified by D and G band 1.02 I D /I G ratio) and its functional group was further analyzed with the help of FTIR spectra. Synthesized product morphology was characterized by using SEM and TEM images, which confirms formation of well-defined dumb-bell shaped nanostructures with the combination of carbon nanotube and also it further confirms the formation of polycrystalline nature of the material. The elemental composition was analyzed by EDS images, which confirms the occurrence of Sr, Mo, O, and C in an appropriate form with a uniform distribution, respectively. MWCNT in SrMoO 4 incorporation led to decrease overpotential of 204 mV and 110 mV/dec Tafel slope of the material, which was examined by the LSV curves and Tafel plot analysis. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was also investigated, and it delivered the small charge-transfer resistance of 248 Ω, which further supporting the HER analysis and denoting the promising HER kinetics. Therefore, our work unlocks a new path for the properly tuned nanostructured morphology of metal oxide with carbon composite for electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing a commercial and stable electrocatalysts is a crucial factor for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) to replace noble electrocatalysts. In particular, thiospinel-structured metal sulfide is explored in wide areas like supercapacitors, lithium-ion, HER, and oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) because of distinctive features and interesting magnetic and electrical properties. The present work revealed the preparation of CuCo 2 S 4 with N doped different amounts of rGO by a hydrothermal process and the electrocatalysts used for HER. The present study aims to influence morphological and electrocatalytic action of CuCo 2 S 4 by optimizing amount of rGO content and accelerate electron transfer rate and offer rich active sites. Strong interaction between CuCo 2 S 4 with N-rGO were examined with the help of physico-chemical property analysis such as diffraction, microscopic and spectroscopic studies, which confirming the formation of nanocomposite material. The morphological studies confirmed the formation of nanoplatelets assembled CuCo 2 S 4 structure with the N doped rGO sheets and the elemental analysis has also confirmed the uniform distribution of the following elements such as copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), sulfur (S), nitrogen (N) and carbon (C). Among all the prepared materials, the electrocatalyst of CuCo 2 S 4 /N-rGO-50 yield promising electrocatalytic activity when compared to different amount of rGO. CuCo 2 S 4 /N-rGO-50 requires 86 mV overpotential to deliver 10 mA/cm2, likewise Tafel slope of nanomaterial was 95 mV/dec, respectively. Moreover, electrocatalyst exhibited excellent double-layer capacitance (C dl) value, small charge-transfer resistance of 8.60 mF/cm2, 3.55 Ω and high stability with the minimal loss over 24 h. Therefore, these findings may open way to explore thiospinel-structured metal sulfide with carbon composites for optimized H 2 evolution reaction. [Display omitted] • CuCo 2 S 4 nanoplatelets with carbon composites were hydrothermally synthesized. • CuCo 2 S 4 /N-rGO-50 electrode requires 86 mV overpotential to reach 10 mA/cm2. • CuCo 2 S 4 /N-rGO-50 exhibits excellent HER activities after 24 h stability test. • HER enhancement was due to high surface area and well-defined nanostructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • MPC based decentralized control scheme is proposed for hybrid source converters and parallel-connected VSI for an islanded microgrids. • To maintain dc bus voltage, and balancing the SoC among DGs, the MPVC method is proposed for multiple PV/Battery hybrid source converters. • Enhancing real and reactive power sharing among several DG units under mismatched feeder impedance, predictive hierarchical control is proposed for VSIs. • The proposed control strategy enhances voltage quality, load sharing at the PCC under fluctuating power generation, and various load conditions. Abstract This article presents a decentralized power management scheme based on Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach for islanded ac microgrid. This control structure can be categorized into dc-dc converter control and Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) control. The Model Predictive Voltage Control (MPVC) method is deployed for multiple PV/Battery hybrid source converters and parallel connected inverters in droop controlled microgrids. In the proposed strategy, the fluctuating PV output can be smoothened by controlling the PV converter. In addition, bidirectional battery converter maintains dc-bus voltage and State of Charge (SoC) balancing of batteries. Droop control is further incorporated with MPVC to control the power converters for ensuring stable ac output voltage and proper load sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel SmMn 2 O 5 hollow long cuboids were synthesized via long time solvothermal route. The structural investigation of orthorhombic phase SmMn 2 O 5 was associated by the predominant peak of (211) crystal plane. In depth analysis of band structure have been explored by the strong absorbance edge around 380 nm in UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) spectra and the calculated energy band gap was 3.22 eV from Tauc plot. The intensive investigation of electrochemical performance of novel SmMn 2 O 5 hollow long nano-cuboids were revealed from cyclic voltammogram and the specific capacitance obtained was 256 F/g at 5 mV/s scan rate. The water oxidizing ability of the fabricated SmMn 2 O 5 hollow long nano-cuboids electrode was examined by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) study at the maximum current density of 0.37 mA/g. The internal resistance (Rs) and the charge transfer resistance (Rct) were respectively reported as 13 and 355 Ω with low Tafel slope value of 64 mV/dec. The stability of the fabricated novel SmMn 2 O 5 hollow long nano-cuboid electrode was investigated through chronoamperometry (CA) study for 3 h with 100% retention of water oxidizing ability. • Unique hollow long SmMn 2 O 5 nanocuboids were synthesized. • Product revealed good specific capacitance as 256 F/g at 5 mV/s scan rate and 141 F/g at 1 A/g current density. • Product water oxidizing ability by maximum current density of 0.37 mA/g at 10 mV/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Model predictive control (MPC) based hierarchical control scheme for voltage source converter (VSC) is proposed for an islanded microgrids. • Finite control set MPC is utilized in inner loop control for three-phase four-leg inverter to track their voltage references. • Droop control and Virtual impedance scheme are employed in primary control for improving active and reactive power sharing. • State Space General Predictive Control (SS-GPC) based secondary control scheme (SCS) is proposed for regulating voltage and frequency. • The proposed control strategy enhances power sharing and power quality at the point of common coupling (PCC). Abstract This paper presents decentralized Model Predictive Control (MPC) based hierarchical control scheme with both primary and secondary level for an islanded AC microgrid to address power quality and unequal power sharing problems. The control scheme consists of an inner control loop, primary control and secondary control. Finite Control Set-Model Predictive Control (FCS-MPC) is incorporated in the inner loop to track the reference voltage and fix the capacitor voltage in each Distributed Generator (DG) unit. Primary control comprises of virtual impedance loop and droop control to control power flow and power sharing among DG systems. Moreover, state space predictor based secondary control is proposed for regulating frequency of the microgrid and node voltage to their nominal values in islanded operation. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed control method is analyzed with the static model of dynamic loads and validated with conventional control scheme under mismatched feeder impedance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Synthesis of polyoxometalates (Cu 3 Mo 2 O 9 nanopowders) was obtained by using solvothermal method and confirmed by X-ray diffraction pattern, with orthorhombic crystalline structure belonging to the space group Pna2 1 (33). Further, the synthesized Cu 3 Mo 2 O 9 nanopowders were analyzed by using Raman, infrared, and photoluminescence studies. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study explained the oxidation states of Mo-3d, Cu-2p, and O-1s in Cu 3 Mo 2 O 9 nanopowders. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images clearly revealed the formation of nanostructure randomly oriented to form an interconnected rout, which emerged as a good candidate for storing more charges at the surface of Cu 3 Mo 2 O 9 nanopowders. The electrochemical studies, such as cyclic voltammetry, electro impedance analysis, and galvanostatic charging–discharging studies, were used to analyze its electrochemical properties. To ensure the stability of Cu 3 Mo 2 O 9 nanopowders, continuous charging and discharging studies were conducted for 1000 cycles at a current density of 5 A g−1 and it exhibited good stability over a large number of cyclic studies with capacity retention of 99.2% after the first 500 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract One pot hydrothermal route was adapted to synthesis pristine and Sn doped α-Fe 2 O 3 nanospheres successfully. Sharp high intense diffraction peaks obtained from XRD confirmed crystalline nature of rhombohedral hematite. The secondary SnO 2 face formation was due to increasing Sn dopant concentration. Raman spectra confirmed intrinsic phonon vibration modes [E g (1)+E g (2)+E u ] of hematite nanospheres. 2P 3/2 (1) → 2P 1/2 transition by emission peak at 549 nm confirmed hematite phase formation. Metal oxygen vibration (Fe O stretching) was confirmed by absorption band situated at 539 cm−1. The noticeable variation in band gap of pristine hematite nanospheres was due to tetravalent Sn4+ dopant concentration. The lowest band gap energy 1.90 eV was found for 10 wt% Sn4+ doped hematite. Highest photocurrent 2.34 mA/cm2 at 0.098 V V RHE was obtained for 10% Sn doped hematite nanospheres. The EIS exposed the charge transferring mechanism of synthesized pristine and Sn doped α-Fe 2 O 3 nanospheres. M-S plot evidenced that the lower shift of flat band potential for 10 wt% Sn4+ doped hematite was as −0.35 V. CA study proved the good stability over 4 h of the best performed photoanodes. Sn4+ doping and its dopant concentration on pristine hematite had dominant effect on photocatalytic activity of hematite nanospheres. Highlights • Lowest band gap energy 1.90 eV was found for 10 wt% Sn4+ doped hematite. • Highest photocurrent 2.34 mA/cm2 at 0.098 V V RHE. • Lower shift of flat band potential as −0.35 V was obtained. • Good stability over 4 h was found for 10 wt% Sn4+ doped hematite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of Larmor radius effects on the propagation of whistler waves is investigated experimentally in laboratory plasma. The waves are excited using a loop antenna of diameter less than the electron skin depth, the natural scale length in this regime. In an earlier experiment [G. Joshi et al., Phys. Plasmas 24, 122110 (2017)], it was shown that such waves assume an elongated shape with perpendicular dimensions of the order of skin depth. In the present work, we show that wave propagation is significantly modified when the external guiding magnetic field is decreased. The wave spreads in the perpendicular direction in spite of starting of as an elongated whistler due to electron inertia effects. In the near region, the antenna field becomes dominant even forming null points, with the physical processes taking shape and wave still being guided by the net background magnetic field. However, the feeble external magnetic field in the region away from the antenna is unable to guide the wave any further and the wave spreads. In spite of a large current pulse, the wave remains linear (ΔB/B0 ≤ 1). The observed results are attributed to the interplay between electron inertia and finite Larmor radius effects and are explained in terms of a modified physical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In recent years, scarcity of water, energy and labour, increasing production cost, decreasing farm profitability and climate-change-induced variability are major challenges faced by the farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of South Asia. Conservation agriculture (CA) based best-bet crop management practices may increase crop productivity and profitability, while conserving natural resources. In a 10-year (2007–2017) field study, we assessed the effects of four combinations of tillage and, crop establishment (TCE), and residue (R) management options for the crop and water productivity and profitability of rice-maize (RM) system in Eastern IGP of India. The treatments consisted of zero-till direct seeded rice followed by zero tilled maize (ZTDSR/ZTM); ZTDSR followed by maize both on permanent raised beds with residue (PBDSR/PBM (+R)); PBDSR followed by PBM without residue (PBDSR/PBM (-R)) and conventional till puddled transplanted rice followed by conventional till maize (PTR/CTM). Overall, mean rice grain yield was similar under ZTDSR/ZTM, PBDSR/PBM (+R) and PTR/CTM, but 5.0–7.9% higher than PBDSR/PBM (-R). However, the maize yield was significantly (P < 0.05) higher by 6–82% in CA-based PBDSR/PBM (+R) RM system compared to PTR/CTM and PBDSR/PBM (-R) right from first year onwards. The RM system productivity (rice equivalent yield, REY) was higher by 1.5–38% in CA-based systems [ZTDSR/ZTM; PBDSR/PBM (+R)] than in the PTR/CTM and PBDSR/PBM (-R) systems. APSIM model predicted yield of rice and maize under different TCE and residue management practices with cumulative probability distribution plots was higher and consistent in PBDSR/PBM (+R) and ZTDSR/ZTM compared to PBDSR/PBM (-R) and PTR/CTM, suggesting that CA plots has lower probability of low yield than CT. CA-based ZTDSR/ZTM and PBDSR/PBM (+R) practices reduced the total system water use by 151–341 mm and 212–423 mm, and resulted enhanced system water productivity (WP) by 27–57% and 39–68%, respectively compared to CT (PTR/CTM) system. Economic profit for RM system was always significantly (P < 0.05) higher (225–1028 US$/ha/year) in CA-based systems than in CT system. Our study shows that CA-based system under RM rotation is one of the ways for improving crop and water productivity and farm income, as well as sustaining the natural resources in smallholder production systems of Eastern IGP in India and other similar agro-ecologies of South Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor impairments (including chorea), along with behavioral, psychiatric, and cognitive symptoms. Tetrabenazine was the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for chorea related to HD. Objective: To examine pharmacologic treatment patterns among patients using tetrabenazine, including reasons for treatment initiation, non-initiation, dose adjustments, and discontinuation, and to quantify the burden of chorea based on healthcare resource utilization. Methods: In this retrospective patient chart review, neurologists were recruited from the Medefield () opt-in panel, and selected ≤5 medical charts based on the criteria provided and abstracted data on demographics, disease history, healthcare resource use, and treatment patterns. Results: 138 neurologists participated and 512 HD patient charts were reviewed. Among these patients, 26.4% did not initiate tetrabenazine. Most HD patients (66.5%) received a tetrabenazine dose ≤50 mg. The most common reasons for stopping upward titration were optimal chorea control (55.5%), intolerability of higher doses (31.2%), and reaching the maximum recommended dosage despite suboptimal chorea control (11.4%). Chorea severity and non-persistence to tetrabenazine were associated with increased emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and days hospitalized. Conclusions: Although tetrabenazine was the sole FDA-approved treatment for HD chorea until April 2017, more than one-quarter of respondents never initiated therapy. Tetrabenazine dosing was lower than predicted, and many patients experienced adverse symptoms of intolerability at high doses. New safer and more tolerable treatment options, such as deutetrabenazine, may improve treatment outcomes and reduce healthcare resource use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of return currents in the plasma dynamics of a dc non-transferred arc plasma torch has been investigated. The anode arc root connects the main plasma column and return current in the anode and its motion governs the return current formation in the anode. Thus by investigating the return currents, we can explore complex spatio-temporal evolution of the plasma in detail. In this work, we have used electrical and magnetic diagnostics. The electrical diagnostic comprises of a high voltage probe, and the magnetic diagnostic consists of a garland of several B-dot probes incorporated inside the anode water cooling channels. The magnetic (B-dot) probes are designed to pick up the dominant component of the time-varying magnetic fields. Results show that, beyond a threshold, volume return currents transform to constricted line currents in the anode return path. This is attributed to eddy currents arising due to space varying rather than time varying return current components in the anode. The probes capture fast rotation of the arc root that is not captured by fast imaging. Also, arc root shunting (restriking) phenomena and its location on the anode periphery are clearly captured by the garland of magnetic probes. A physical model explaining the processes is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To survey neurologists and obtain clinical perceptions of tetrabenazine for the treatment of chorea in patients with Huntington disease (HD).Methods: Board-certified/board-eligible neurologists, in practice for ≥5 years, who had treated treat ≥3 HD patients in the past 2 years, were recruited from an online physician panel to participate in a cross-sectional, web-based survey. Respondents provided information about themselves, their practice, approaches to HD chorea management and perceptions of available treatments.Results: Two hundred neurologists responded to the survey. Based on clinician responses, the most common reasons to treat chorea are impairment in activities of daily living (54%) and quality of life (41%). Although tetrabenazine was the only approved treatment for chorea in HD patients at the time of this analysis, it was only prescribed to ∼50% of patients with HD-related chorea. More than half of physicians perceive tetrabenazine as having minimal or no effectiveness in improving chorea. More than 40% of physicians consider tetrabenazine to be a non-optimal treatment, and 51% of physicians agree that they are unable to titrate to efficacious doses due to adverse side effects or tolerability concerns. Physicians report that side effects leading to dose interruptions (33%) and reductions (30%) occur in their patients "often" or "almost always". The most common side effects that led to insufficient dosing and disruptions in titration were sedation and somnolence (41%), depression (24%) and anxiety (22%).Conclusions: Many physicians who treat HD-related chorea report that tolerability issues with tetrabenazine impact their ability to effectively use tetrabenazine in their clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In the present study, an attempt was made to enhance the solubility of beclomethasone dipropionate by solid dispersion method followed by formulating and evaluating the sustained release matrix tablets-containing solid dispersion of beclomethasone dipropionate to overcome its lacuna of short elimination half-life. Materials and Methods: Solid dispersion was prepared by using β-cyclodextrin and polyethylene glycol 6000 as a carrier by physical mixture, solvent evaporation, and kneading methods and evaluated for percentage yield, drug content, and in vitro dissolution studies. The selected formulation of solid dispersion was subjected for preparation of sustained release tablets by direct compression method using matrix polymers hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) K 15 and guar gum and evaluated for thickness, weight variation, hardness, friability, drug content, and in vitro drug release studies. Results: The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy study revealed no interaction between the drug and polymers. The powder possessed good flow properties before the compression. The results of in vitro dissolution studies were not satisfactory to achieve sustained release of the drug from the formulation. Conclusion: The aim was to formulate sustained release matrix tablets of beclomethasone dipropionate which was not achieved, hence it was concluded that the matrix tablets prepared using HPMC K 15 and guar gum-containing solid dispersion of beclomethasone dipropionate is not a suitable approach for the sustained release delivery of beclomethasone dipropionate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental observations of a new regime of whistler propagation in the laboratory are reported in this paper. The experiments are carried out in a large laboratory unbound uniform plasma with a density of ne ~ 109-1011 cm-3 and a magnetic field of 1-20G. Studies are performed in the electron magnetohydrodynamic regime, which is governed by electron dynamics with Le⪡L⪡Li and τci⪢τ ⪢ τce, where L and τ are the spatial and temporal scale lengths of the perturbations, Le and Li the electron and ion Larmor radii, respectively, and τci and τce the temporal scales corresponding to the ion gyrofrequency and electron gyrofrequency, respectively. The complete topology of the perturbed wave magnetic field is unravelled by mapping it on a two dimensional grid over repeated plasma shots. It is observed that the excited waves are elongated whistlers in the propagation direction. However, in the perpendicular direction, the extent is limited to scale lengths of the order of natural scale length of plasma, i.e., the skin depth (~c/ωpe), rather than being oblique as predicted by theory and observed in other experiments. The wave shows a feeble resonance cone at an angle of ~10° but no obliqueness. Also, the secondary induction, which helps the wave to propagate further into the plasma, does not manifest within the spatial scale lengths characteristic to this regime. However, the wave is still able to maintain the whistler speed calculated for the given plasma and pulsed current parameters. It is speculated that the natural scale length (skin depth) and in turn the electron inertia may play a significant role, leading to the observed results. A physical model is also presented that could possibly explain the observed phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen production via electrochemical water splitting is still considered as solution for global energy demand. The ternary composite material of copper bismuth sulfide/reduced graphene oxide/graphitic carbon nitride (Cu 3 BiS 3 /rGO/g-C 3 N 4) electrocatalyst was produced via hydrothermal for HER activity. The X-ray diffraction study revealed that Cu 3 BiS 3 with carbon composite have orthorhombic phase with an average crystallite size as 43.1 nm. The Raman spectra of Cu 3 BiS 3 with carbon (rGO/g-C 3 N 4) composite revealed the existence of structural defects with I D /I G ratio of 1.01. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies was explored bayberry-like Cu 3 BiS 3 nanosphere formation with finely unified rGO and g-C 3 N 4 sheets. In an alkaline medium, the electrocatalytic performance demonstrates the enhancement of the Cu 3 BiS 3 catalyst due to the addition of rGO/g-C 3 N 4 with the low 111 mV overpotential and small 113 mV/dec Tafel slope value. The electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) of Cu 3 BiS 3 with carbon (rGO/g-C 3 N 4) composite was 127.25 cm2, whereas the ECSA values of Cu 3 BiS 3 and Cu 3 BiS 3 /rGO were 34.25 and 86.5 cm2, respectively. The results conclude that π-π interaction among rGO and g-C 3 N 4 can effectively improve the conductivity, active sites, surface area and porous nature of the obtained product, which leads to enhance HER performance. Therefore, morphology tuned carbon composite material would be a promising candidate in forthcoming cost-effective and large-scale water splitting applications. • Cu 3 BiS 3 /rGO/g-C 3 N 4 explored low 111 mV overpotential. • Cu 3 BiS 3 /rGO/g-C 3 N 4 investigated small 113 mV/dec Tafel slope value. • ECSA of Cu 3 BiS 3 /rGO/g-C 3 N 4 was 127.25 cm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data compression is the ancestor of image compression, which uses fewer bits to represent the same picture. It is categorised as lossy or lossless depending on the quality required. In a lossless compression situation, no information is lost during the decompression process. Data loss is possible with the lossy technique since it is not reversible. In an effort to boost compression efficiency while maintaining a high xiv reconstruction quality of picture, near lossless approaches have evolved. The medical pictures consist of a large number of items, each of which may be described in detail and utilised for a variety of purposes. The clinically relevant item in 2D medical pictures is referred to as the Region of Interest (ROI), whereas in 3D images, it is referred to as the Volume of Interest (VOI). Saving energy is crucial since it is one of the most limited resources in these networks. However, DTN has an additional difficulty since communication between nodes is maintained so long as they are in physical proximity to one another. However, because to the nodes' mobility, this may not be long enough to provide the necessary multimedia data transmission. Wireless networks are susceptible to security assaults, and traditional security solutions are computationally demanding, making them unsuitable for networks that constantly need to recharge their batteries. All of these are reasons for tackling the problems of multimedia data processing and transmission via wireless networks in this dissertation. With this in mind, it has been attempted to investigate low-overhead and safe multimedia data compression as a solution to the issue that energy-constrained nodes in these networks limit complex multimedia processing while keeping at least basic security features. LZW-OMCA compression using the Octagonal Multimedia Compression Algorithm is part of the suggested method. The purpose of this is to improve the compression ratio. The proposed approach uses a little bit of crypt to compress data, which makes the data unreadable to anybody except the intended receiver, hence providing network security. The previous proposed works analysed the performance of several compression algorithms applied to multimedia material. Performance assessment utilising MSE, SSIM, and other metrics are used to show the pros and cons of each segment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pure and Co doped CeO 2 nanostructures were synthesized with different weight percentages of Co (0–7 wt%) via microwave technique. The thermal, structural, optical and morphological studies of the prepared nanoparticles were undertaken by thermo gravimetry (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), photoluminescence (PL), Raman and scanning electron microscopy (SEM & EDS). Electrochemical studies reveal that the Co(5%)-CeO 2 (Co-C5) electrode exhibits better electrochemical storage. Co-C5 electrode exhibits a maximum specific capacitance of 573 F g −1 at a current density of 2 A g −1 . The stability of the electrode was tested and it exhibits 96% of cyclic stability even after 1000 continuous charge-discharge cycles and the obtained results are discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riboflavin (vitamin B 2 ), a water-soluble vitamin, plays a key role in maintaining human health. Though, numerous methods have been reported for the determination of total riboflavin (TRF) content in foods and biological samples, very few methods are reported for quantifying riboflavin and its coenzymes [flavin mononucleotide (FMN); flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)] individually. Recently, we have demonstrated that antibodies specific to d -ribitol and d -ribitol-5-phosphate also recognize riboflavin and FMN, respectively, and not vice-versa. In this study, we have evaluated these two antibodies for the analysis of riboflavin and FMN by indirect competitive ELISA (icELISA) in selected foods and pharmaceuticals. Under the optimal assay conditions, 50% inhibition concentration (IC 50 ) and limit of detection (LOD, IC 10 ) were 3.41 ng/mL and 0.02 ng/mL for riboflavin, and 7.84 ng/mL and 0.24 ng/mL for FMN, respectively, with detectable concentration range between 0.1 and 100 ng of analytes and < 0.1% cross-reactivity with other water-soluble vitamins. The amounts of TRF in food samples, as analyzed by icELISA using ribitol antibody, were 90–95% of the reported values in the literature or label values. Quantification of individual flavins (riboflavin and FMN) from the same food samples showed variation in their values compared to TRF, and were in good agreement with values obtained from HPLC and AOAC methods. Further, spiking and recovery analysis of food samples and pharmaceuticals showed no significant matrix effects. The immunoassays were validated in terms of accuracy and precision using inter- and intra-assays. The immunoassays developed in this study are sensitive and appears feasible for screening a large number of samples in the quantification of riboflavin and FMN in various biological samples, pharmaceuticals and natural/processed foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamical behaviour of the plasma in a dc non-transferred plasma torch is the result of complex interactions between various forces acting on the plasma column. We have studied this behaviour in a novel experiment comprising a low power (~25 kW) torch and fast imaging diagnostics. The nitrogen gas plasma torch was operated at atmospheric pressure for a wide range of gas flow rates (20-60 1pm) and currents (70-120 A). A strong axial external magnetic field (100-500 G) was introduced and end-on images of the plasma column were captured using a high speed camera of frame rate ~117 000 fps. The studies have yielded dominant role of external magnetic on the arc root dynamics. The column is clearly distinguishable in three main parts: central plasma, cathodeanode junction, and radial component of column that attaches to the anode. The dynamics of the column, especially the angular rotational speed of the radial part of the column, is analyzed in detail in terms of the forces that act upon it. The nature of the arc root attachment is observed to vary with variation in main experimental parameters, such as current, magnetic field, and flow. Arguments are invoked to explain the observed phenomena and a model of the physical processes is presented to explain the phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a serine/threonine heterotrimeric protein kinase, is a critical regulator of cellular and whole body energy homeostasis. There are twelve known AMPK isoforms that are differentially expressed in tissues and species. Dysregulation of AMPK signaling is associated with a multitude of human pathologies. Hence isoform-selective activators of AMPK are actively being sought for the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The present review summarizes the status of direct AMPK activators from the patent and published literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal ions (M) (M=Ag + , Cu 2+ , Sm 3+ and Eu 3+ ) doped KAl 0.33 W 1.67 O 6 are obtained at room temperature by ion exchange method. These materials are characterized by powder X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and UV–visible DRS. All these materials are crystallized in a cubic lattice with F d 3 ¯ m space group. The dependence of photoluminescence properties of Sm 3+ and Eu 3+ in KAl 0.33 W 1.67 O 6 lattice is examined with reference to rare earth ion concentration. The AC conductivity measurements of Ag + and Cu 2+ doped KAl 0.33 W 1.67 O 6 are carried out in the temperature range 30–450 °C. The variation of conductivity with frequency and temperature is explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal doped NiO nanoparticles have been prepared by microwave method without adding surfactants. The effect of the metal dopants on the structural, morphological, optical, and magnetic properties of the NiO nanoparticles was investigated. Metal dopant ions played a major role in reducing crystallite size and introducing lattice distortion in the doped nanoparticles. The incorporated ion takes enough oxygen from NiO lattice site, and it forms nickel interstitials (Ni i ) and oxygen vacancies (V O ) which have a predominant ionic effect observed in the PL spectrum. The magnetic properties discussion indicates that the metal doped NiO nanoparticles exhibit ferromagnetic behaviors at 10 K and 300 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) is an infrastructure-less collection of nodes that are powered by portable batteries. Consumption of energy is the major constraint in a wireless network. This paper presents a new algorithm called Energy-Aware Span Routing Protocol (EASRP) that uses energy-saving approaches such as Span and the Adaptive Fidelity Energy Conservation Algorithm (AFECA). Energy consumption is further optimized by using a hardware circuit called the Remote Activated Switch (RAS) to wake up sleeping nodes. These energy-saving approaches are well-established in reactive protocols. However, there are certain issues to be addressed when using EASRP in a hybrid protocol, especially a proactive protocol. Simulation results for the EASRP protocol show an increase in energy efficiency of 12.2% and 17.45% compared with EAZRP and ZRP, respectively. The EASRP protocol also proves to be effective in by producing a better packet delivery ratio for low- and high-density networks as measured by the NS-2 simulation tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defect pyrochlores of composition KM 0.33 Te 1.67 O 6 (M = Al, Cr and Fe) were prepared by solid state method. Structural, morphological and optical properties of these materials were obtained by XRD, Raman, SEM, particle size analyser, and UV–Visible diffuse reflectance techniques. The lattice parameter “ a ” was deduced for all the materials from Rietveld refinement program, Fullprof.2k by refining d-lines. The photocatalytic activities of these materials were evaluated by photodegradation of methylene blue. The mechanistic degradation pathway of methylene blue (MB) was studied in the presence of KAl 0.33 Te 1.67 O 6 using terepthalic acid. The DC conductivity measurements of all compositions were carried out in the temperature range 373–673 K. The variation of conductivity with temperature is explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cubic-structured NiO, CoO and spinel-structured NiCoO were synthesized via microwave route. The structural properties of NiO, CoO and NiCoO nanostructures were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis, and it showed smaller crystallite size for NiO than CoO and NiCoO by using Williamson-Hall method. Flake-like and hexagonal plate-like morphologies were ascertained from HRSEM and TEM analyses. Optical properties of these materials were investigated by photoluminescence study, and it presents the band edge emission for all materials with supplementary emissions in visible region due to the presence of defects such as vacancy and interstitial. Raman and FTIR spectra provide the functional characteristics of NiO, CoO and NiCoO nanostructures. XPS measurement revealed the purity and composition of these nanostructures. Room temperature magnetic measurements were investigated using vibrating sample magnetometer. The low coercivity and remanent magnetization for NiO, CoO and NiCoO nanostructures confirmed that these nanoparticles exhibit a weak ferromagnetic behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles were synthesized by microwave process using citric acid as a capping agent. Interestingly, when calcination temperature is increased to 600 °C, nanoparticles were formed into nanospheres of about less than 20 nm observed from SEM images. The particles were aggregated into bigger size of about 65 nm when the calcination temperature was increased to 800 °C. The samples calcined at 400 °C and 800 °C show superparamagnetism above the blocking temperature and the existence of small ferromagnetism is observed when T < T b . At 600 °C, sphere like Co 3 O 4 particles exhibit complete super paramagnetism from 5 K to 300 K. These results indicated that the structural, optical and magnetic properties may be tuned by choosing appropriate calcination temperature of the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extensive experimental investigation is carried out to construct a generalized model using theory of dynamic similarity for plasma spray torch behaviour in low-pressure environment. The generalized model is designed with a new set of dimensionless numbers to highlight the operational behaviour of the plasma torch at 10 mbar ambient pressure. These dimensionless numbers represent the effect of corresponding input parameters on the output behaviour of the plasma torch. A comparative analysis of these dimensionless numbers with their atmospheric counterparts highlights the effect of low pressure on the plasma torch operation. The current–voltage characteristics (CVC) and thermal efficiency of the plasma torch are experimentally measured at ∼ 10 mbar chamber pressures at different arc current values, in the range of 100–500 A, for three different anode exit diameters, e.g. 8, 13 and 17 mm. Nitrogen is used as plasma-forming gas having flow rate range of 24–64 LPM. In addition to CVC profile and thermal efficiency, the plasma jet length at 10 mbar chamber pressure is also characterized using a very high-speed camera. A generalized model is also constructed to predict the plasma jet length in low pressure. The output of the model is verified by comparing with the experimental data at different input parameters and found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. This study presents a generalized relationship between input controllable parameters and output behaviour of a plasma spray torch, which is valid in the pressure range of ∼ 10 to ∼ 30 mbar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An organic second harmonic generation (SHG) active material, ethylenediaminium di(2-nitrophenolate) (EDA2NP) was synthesized through proton transfer reaction. Good quality single crystals of dimension 6 x 4 x 2mm³ were grown by solvent evaporation method using ethanol as a solvent for the first time in literature. The lattice parameters of the grown crystals were determined by X-ray diffraction studies. Fourier Transform Infra Red (FT-IR) spectrum was recorded to identify the presence of various functional groups and the molecular structure was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum. Thermal analyses of the grown crystal were carried out using thermo gravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves. Optical (UV-vis-NIR) analysis shows that the grown crystals were found to be transparent (450-2500nm) in the entire visible region. The existence of second harmonic generation signals was observed by using Nd:YAG laser with fundamental wavelength of 1064nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Microstructural characterisation was performed for IN718 thin-walled builds, produced using direct laser fabrication (DLF), to understand the influence of the variations in the deposition path and the laser power on the microtexture, grain structures and intermetallic particle morphology development. Considerable differences were observed, with the high laser power input generating a columnar grain structure, with a strong <001> fibre texture along the build height, compared to a mixture of fine uniform and large columnar grains in the low power builds, with a near random texture. The influence of different DLF conditions on the formation of Laves and of δ phase was also found to be significant, with the Laves phase precipitates being larger in the high laser power sample. Carbides and δ were also present in the high power build, but were not observed in the low power samples regardless of the deposition path. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents a new improved harmony search (IHS) algorithm to solve non-convex economic load dispatch problems in the power system. In the proposed IHS algorithm, multiple harmony memory consideration rates and dynamic pitch adjusting rate are used to generate a new harmony/solution vector with enhanced solution quality. The effectiveness of the proposed IHS algorithm has been successfully tested in the test systems which consists of six units with ramp rate limits, prohibited operating zones and transmission loss, thirteen units with valve point effect, and ten units with multiple fuel options and valve point effect. The results obtained using the proposed IHS algorithm are compared with the results of other techniques reported in the literature. The comparative results reveal that the proposed IHS algorithm has good searching capacity to find the global optimal solution, than the other methods reported in the literature and also has good convergence characteristic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]